Incoming Denver chamber president Kelly Brough’s ties with the Democratic Party and political operative David Kenney have raised some eyebrows.

In response to questions about the concerns, Brough noted that she not only toasted with Kenney after she landed the chamber job, but she also had celebratory drinks with former Colorado Gov. Bill Owens and businessman David McReynolds, both Republicans. Owens, who didn’t return a call for comment for the article that was published Sunday, has a different take.

In an email Monday, Owens said that while he did run into Brough at the ChopHouse on Aug. 7, he was drinking to the Colorado Rockies beating the Chicago Cubs, not to Brough’s new gig at the chamber. (Owens’ full email is pasted at the end of this post)

“While we were having drinks and talking baseball, Kelly and Maria Garcia Berry walked in whereby David (a true gentleman and long time Chamber board member) asked if they would like to have a drink,” Owens wrote. “We were certainly not celebrating anything that evening other than the Rockies victory that night over the hapless Cubs.”

Maria Garcia Berry is a political consultant and is the wife of Chuck Berry, president of the Colorado Association of Commerce and Industry, the state chamber.

Owens said he respects the work Brough has done as Mayor John Hickenlooper’s chief of staff. But he repeated worries voiced by others about a Democrat whose career has largely been in the public sector winning the high-profile job of representing the business community.

“I am, however, concerned at Kelly’s lack of business experience and close ties to Democratic elected officials and consultants – ties which may be challenged if she represents business, as business certainly expects to be represented,” Owens wrote in the email

Owens’ former chief of staff, Bob Lee, was also in the running for the Denver chamber job.

Laura Keeney writes about aerospace and airlines for The Post. When she's not at work, you can usually find her taking in live music, reading voraciously, or doing something science-related and nerdy. She also loves The Clash ... a lot.

Emilie Rusch covers retail and commercial real estate for The Post. A Wisconsin native and Mizzou graduate, she moved to Colorado in 2012. Before that, she worked at a small daily newspaper in South Dakota. It's the one with Mount Rushmore.